


Love the Pain Away

by stolideux



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Avengers - Freeform, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fem!Harry, Gen, Genderbending, MCU verse, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2018-05-23 00:16:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6098585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stolideux/pseuds/stolideux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU! Anthony Edward Stark has it all; a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and Iron Man. What more can he ask for? But when a startling truth about Tony's past came into light, it might just change everything Tony knew. How can something so small-so vulnerable be worth more than anything Tony knew? A treasure he never knew he had is finally found. Dad!TonyFem!Harry TS/PP MCU verse crossosted in FF.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warining(s): Alternate Universe  
> Fem!Harry  
> Mentions of Child Abuse and Neglect  
> Curse words
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers or Harry Potter. Avengers and Harry Potter belongs to MARVEL and J.K.Rowlings respectively. This is a work of Fanfiction.

Prologue 

“You know what? Just tell them that I’m on vacation or something. Wait, or you can just tell them to suck it up!”

Anthony ‘Tony’ Edward Stark glared at the piece of the electronic in his hand. He had half of his mind to tell Pepper to fire those old coots right there right now. But knowing his PA turned CEO, she’s just going to shut the notion down. Tony grumbled, how dare they try to tell him what to do. He was Anthony Edward Stark! Billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist. He owns Stark Industries and he is the one who signs their paychecks every quarter. He’s the boss and bosses can do whatever they want. Stepping out from his black sedan, Tony took in the bustling city of London. It was hell lot of different than Malibu but there’s nothing much changed since he was last here. It’s been a while since he was here, yes he traveled a lot but he tended to avoid London all together.

“Yep it’s been roughly six years. But who’s counting?” Tony mussed, his mind travelling back to the reason why he was there in the first place.

* * *

_It was bright sunny day in Malibu, California but it as always wasted on one Tony Stark who at the moment had barricaded himself inside his R &D lab working on his Iron Man suit. His improved Arc Reactor shone brightly against his grey muscle shirt as the man bustled around his lab tinkering away. He was in the middle of fixing from wiring on his helmet when a mechanical voice with a British accent called his attention._

_“Sir. Ms. Potts just arrived. She asked me to go get you.” JARVIS, Tony’s AI said. Tony stopped, dropping his tools on his working table before yanking the safety goggles from his eyes._

_“Yeah. Be right there. Just give a minute will you J?”_

_“Of course Sir.”_

_The sight that greeted Tony when he emerged from his Lab got the man thinking. His former PA turned CEO of SI and his current love interest; Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts was lounging on his sofa staring at the vase filled with Lilies on the coffee table. Tony reminded himself to ask where the flowers came from._

_“Hey there Pep!” Pepper titled her head sideways and smiled at Tony, waving him over._

_“Hey Tony.” She sat up._

_“Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Tony blinked before shrugging a smirk appearing on his face._

_“Oh? You’re finally admitting about your undying love for me?” He joked._

_Pepper looked at Tony. “Really Tony?” She shook her head good naturedly before pulling a folder from her purse and placing it on the coffee table._

_“Kidding aside Tony, I want you to look over this.” Tony eyed the folder warily before looking right back at Pepper._

_“Huh…”he reached for the folder and started to scan through it._

_“I found this while I was cleaning up some of your files in your office. I figured I’d asked JARVIS about this but decided to just ask you directly.” Pepper said, but Tony hardly heard her. His grey eyes were glued on the folder, or rather on the photo that was inside the folder. It was a polaroid photo of him together with a woman. Both had ice cream cones in their hands as they smiled at the camera. The photo was a little bit faded but Tony could clearly see himself and the woman. Tony felt a pang on his chest at he stared at the photo. He could recognize those bright green eyes anywhere. There was no one he knew that had that hue of green for eyes._

_‘Only hers…’_

_“Lily.” He breathe, he ran a finger over Lily’s photo._

_“So you know this woman? Who was she?” Pepper asked, she was genuinely interested in knowing who this Lily was. She knew that that Tony had many affairs with different women, but what she was curious what caused Tony to react like this. Tony let out a long breathy sigh before hanging his head._

_“She was my girlfriend. Met her in London back in 2005.” Pepper blinked._

_“So she’s a girlfriend girlfriend? Not the type of fling you used to have?” Tony nodded._

_“Yeah. She was a Med Intern at the local hospital there. We met at some bar and just got along pretty well and a year later we were in a serious relationship.” Tony trailed off, his eyes gaining a faraway look. Pepper was surprised. She never expected Tony to have a serious relationship since well… Since it was Tony Stark._

_“So where is she now?”_

_“Dead.” Tony mumbled darkly._

_“She’s been dead for 6 years if you want to know how long.”_

_“Tony I…”_

_“It’s okay Pep. She’s gone.” Tony stood up and sauntered to his wet bar. He needed a drink, a strong one._

_“Tony…” “Pepper stop. Why are you suddenly so interested about this? She was my ex-girlfriend who is dead. It’s all in the past.” Tony snapped, before downing his drink. Pepper approached Tony and slide next to him; she didn’t look at him but was eyeing the bottle of scotch in front of them._

_“Because Tony. If what you told me about Lily Evans is true then what I am going to tell you just became more important.” Tony frowned. Pepper sighed._

_“Tony. I don’t know if you knew about this. Lily Evans was pregnant when she died in the car accident. Lily died but her baby.” Pepper paused. “Her baby survived Tony. And judging by your reaction about her, I am guessing that that baby is yours as well.”_

_Tony froze._

_“What?” “Tony. You have a child out there. Yours and Lily.” …_

* * *

 

Tony let out a long sigh as he reclined back on his car. His mind was having a hard time processing everything that happened to him in the last 24 hours. He rubbed his forehead with his hand and let out a groan. How come he never knew about Lily being pregnant? Sure they broke it off when he told Lily that he had to return to the US and run his family business. They broke up as friends. But Tony really did loved Lily. Then he found out that she died half a year later. Why didn’t she tell him?

_“Do you know what-?” “A daughter Tony, you have a little girl out there.”_

And now here he is back in London, with a single task in mind. He’s going to find his and Lily’s daughter, and he’s not going to return to California until he finds her.

“Sir?”

“Yeah Hap?” Tony looked at his bodyguard slash driver through the rear view mirror. He could clearly see that man was worried about him. Well he was worried about himself as well. He had no idea what he needs to do.

“Do you want to go to the hotel now or you want to go somewhere else first?” Tony thought for a second before looking back at Happy. They were driving out of London and is approaching Surrey where Pepper had booked him a hotel to stay in.

“Just drop me to the nearest park would you buddy?” He needed to think.

“Of course sir.”


	2. Enter Adelaide

Chapter 2:

“Get up! Get up you good for nothing girl! There’s tons of work to do!” A blonde woman who has horse-like features nearly screamed as she banged at the door of the cupboard under the stairs. Inside the said cupboard, a little girl not older than five opened her eyes revealing her bright emerald eyes who at the moment was clouded with sleep. Blinking, the little girl rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let out a jaw cracking yawn while stretching her small body on the thin cot that was her bed.

“Get up girl or so help me I’ll lock you in there for the whole day!” The woman shrieked, gave the door another strong bang before stalking away.

Maria Adelaide Evans or simply ‘Addy’ flinched at the threat. She quickly scrambled to her feet and peeked through the small opening of her cupboard before stepping out. She knew better than make her aunt wait, she slipped into the kitchen.

“Set the table and serve this. Make it quick.” Her aunt, Petunia Dursley pointed at the small stack of porcelain dishes on the kitchen island. The former was bent over the stove, diligently watching the strips of bacon sizzle away. Addy’s mouth watered as she took in the smell of the cooking bacon. She shook it away and carefully carted the fragile dishes to the dining room where two other people were currently sitting. Her cousin, Dudley Dursley was already munching away the stack of pancakes that was covered with ridiculous amount of maple syrup. Dudley was big kid, blonde hair with no table manners whatsoever. Addy thinks he’s spoiled rotten, which was true. Addy watched in disgust as Dudley practically inhales the piece of pancake without even chewing them. He looked like a pig wearing blonde wig with the way he was eating.

“Girl.” A gruff voice caught Addy’s attention. Immediately, the little girl tensed as she slowly looked up to the older man’s beady eyes. Her uncle, Vernon Dursley was a big man, more fat than muscle, he hardly have any neck and his mustache reminds her of a walrus.

“Yes uncle Vernon?” Addy muttered out, she carefully places the dishes in front of the large man.

“Where’s the food?” Her uncle asked, his eyes narrowing at her. “Bring it here quickly.”

Addy nodded and turned to the kitches. But Vernon caught her arm with his sweaty hand and gripped her hard and pulled her back. “Listen here girl.” He spat. “I do hope that you learned your lesson. I don’t mind reminding you again.” Addy threw Dudley a glance-still pigging out before looking back at Vernon. She quickly nods. Her uncle released her, and went back to his newspaper. Addy let out the breath that she didn’t she was holding before she quickly retreated back to the kitchen.

The scent of perfectly cooked bacon and hot chocolate assaulted her senses as she served the food. Her stomach grumbled as she watched the Dursleys eat their food. She would consider herself lucky if they left her a piece of bacon, but that hope was shot down when Dudley ate the last piece. She’s going to have to make do with dry toast… again.

Addy sighed.

…

With a soft grunt, Addy pulled the last of the weed sprouting on her aunt Petunia’s flower bed. She didn’t want to damage any of the flowers so she took extra care in pulling out the weeds. Besides, tending to her aunt’s flowers is one chore that she didn’t mind doing. She loved flowers, especially Lilies.

She then heard uncle Vernon’s car pull out from the garage. Vernon was going to drop Petunia and Dudley somewhere leaving her all alone in the house. Immediately, house number four descend into silence. Addy welcomed it. She pulled another weed she managed to miss before she standing up and patting down her now muddy Dudley hand me downs. Her aunt Petunia didn’t give her anymore chores aside from weeding the garden so now she had the whole day to herself. The Dursleys was not due to be back until late that evening and Addy was not going to let the opportunity to stow away pass. She pulled out a weary looking coat and slipped out for the house through the backyard.

There was nothing really special about Privet Drive, it was epitome of ordinary. Everything looked exactly the same, same houses, same front yard— _everything_. The only thing that was different was the house numbers.

At the age of five, Addy knew how to get around Privet Drive and the neighboring neighborhood. She liked exploring places especially when her relatives were not around. Her aunt never really cared where she goes to be honest. Sometimes Addy would think that Petunia always hoped that she doesn’t return from her excursion. Sometimes she would do the same—not returning to them.

Addy stopped in front of a small electronics and appliance repair shop at the edge of the Privet Drive. She stared at the exposed wirings of different electronics and appliance from the store window. She had this odd interest with anything that has something to do with technology or electronics. She once tinkered with a hand held gaming console that Dudley broke and managed to fix it again. She didn’t return it to her cousin though. He didn’t even notice that it was gone.

The guy who mans the shop noticed her and gave her a wave. Addy waved back before walking away.

At the end of Privet Drive, there’s a small park where people—mostly kids play together every day. It was a Saturday so there were more kids playing in the playground. She smiled at the old ladies who were feeding the ducks with some bread crumbs near the pond, they were nice, and they would sometimes buy her an ice pop.  She always come here, she even has a special secret place. It was an old rickety swing on top of the small hill on the edge of the park underneath a big willow tree. She watched the kids playing with each other longingly. She was not allowed to play there, Dudley and his friends made sure of that. Many would wonder how a six year old can influence a bunch of kids, well Dudley is a bully. He bullied anyone who tried befriending her, they stopped and she stopped trying. She didn’t really mind. Some of the kids’ parents were playing with them, laughter reached Addy’s ears and she frowned. She turned away and continued walking to her spot.

Sometimes Addy would wonder about her parents. Who were they? What kind of people are they? Her aunt Petunia once told her that her Mum got herself pregnant with some guy and got herself killed in a car accident. Her aunt never told her anything about her Mum aside from that.

And her Dad? Nothing. 

She wanted to ask more about them but that only resulted to be slapped and locked in her cupboard. She never dared ask. She wasn’t allowed to ask about her parents, about anything from the Dursleys. Her eyes wandered back to the families loitering around. She didn’t want to believe her aunt because one part of her wanted to believe that one day her daddy would come for her and her take her with him. She held onto to that hope. Dudley would tease her that her daddy didn’t want her that’s what he left her and her mum. Addy _almost_ believed him, but she didn’t. There’s was nothing that could make her believe anything that came out from her cousin’s big mouth.

Nobody ever comes to her secret spot. The kids were scared of the willow tree. But Addy, Addy thought that the tree was beautiful. On top of that small hill has the best view of the park, of the sunset. She hiked the small hill and stopped when she saw her usually empty swing…occupied.

It was a man. He was wearing an expensive looking suit, much expensive looking than what her uncle Vernon would wear to work. He has a nicely cut dark brown hair and brown eyes? Addy was not sure, she was standing a little bit far for her to actually see. He was looking the other or he would have spotted her already. Her childish curiosity winning over her, she quietly crept towards the man and patted his broad shoulder.

“Uhm… excuse me sir?”

…

* * *

 

 TONY

“I know Pepper. It’s just that… fine. Happy is waiting for me. Yes. Yes… uh huh. Alright I’ll call you later… Okay. Bye.” Tony sighed as he hanged his phone. Sometimes Pepper can be very overbearing. She acts more like his mother than her girlfriend. Her role as either his mother or girlfriend is up for debate, said Rhodey. Tony snorted. He pocketed his phone and looked around. He was in a small park somewhere near his hotel, nothing special. Kids and their parents are loitering around playing around, like any normal people would do. He walked around, taking in the crisp autumn air. The old ladies sitting on the bench near the pond even handed him some bread crumbs to feed the ducks which Tony did, albeit a little lost. He then noticed the big willow tree on top of a small hill and decided to just hang around there. It was a small hike but it was worth it. The place was deserted, only an old rickety swing greeted him. Tony smiled.

He tested the old swing to see if it would hold his weight and sat down. The view was pretty impressive; Tony would have to give them that. It overlooks the whole park, the perfect place to think. Tony let out a long sigh as he ran his hand over his face. He fished out something from his coat and held it in front of him. It was another picture. Lily. She was smiling at the camera, even in an old polaroid photo her brilliant green eyes shone. Tony swallowed a lump in his throat. He was the one who took this photo with Lily’s camera. He let out a humorless laugh.

“ _Why didn’t you tell me Lils? If I knew I would have never left.”_

Tony focused his brown eyes back at the photo. _A little girl._ Tony had never once thought about kids. Even when Stane was bugging him about producing an heir for Stark Industries, he waved off the notion. Now he has a little girl, a daughter he never knew he had. And for once, Tony didn’t know what to do. He had never felt so lost in his life, not even when he was in Afghanistan, not even when he lost his parents. If he finds her, would she even want to go with him? Hell can he even be a dad? He didn’t actually have the best role model in that area.

Tony sighed again. He’ll just cross the bridge when he gets there. He has to find his daughter first.

He was so lost in his thought and he didn’t notice a small presence approaching him. He slightly jumped in surprised when he felt someone tap him on his shoulder.

“Uhm… Excuse me sir?”

He shook his head and looked slightly down. A little girl, who looked like she’s about three years old judging from her small stature. She was looking down, fidgeting on her feet; Tony couldn’t see much of her face.

“Uh. Hi there! Is this your swing?” he asked. The girl then slowly looked up to him; brilliant emerald green eyes met his chocolate brown ones.

Tony froze, like something had been lounged on his throat. _Those eyes._ He focused more on her eyes and felt something constrict inside of him.

The little girl in turn, tilted her head slightly to the side and waved her dainty hands in front of his face. “Uhm… are you alright? Why are you staring at me like that?”

This seemed to knock Tony back into reality and smiled sheepishly at the girl. But his eyes never left girl’s. The little girl shook her head and swayed her body with the heel of her feet. She smiled at Tony.

“I uh. Sorry it’s just that you have pretty eyes.” Tony blurted out. The little girl let out a giggle. She looked to her side and pursed her lips. “Yeah. I get that a lot.” She shrugged. “You know, I shouldn’t be talking to strangers.”

Tony smirked. “Well then if I tell you my name then I won’t be a stranger now would I?”

“I suppose not.”

“I’m Tony Stark.” Tony said, while holding out his hand in front of her.

The little girl flashed a bright smile before she grabbed his hand and shook it gently. “I’m Addy. Nice to meet you Mr. Stark.”

Tony felt like his heart just melted.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

 

**TONY**

“Here you go kiddo.” Tony said as he sat down on the crisp grass next to Adelaide. The girl beamed at him and gently took the steaming cup of delicious hot chocolate from his hands. “Careful it’s still hot.” Tony smirked, before blowing on his own cup of choco. Tony and Adelaide has been meeting on that same spot of the last couple of days. And Tony couldn’t ask for more. The two of them became fast friends under the span of 48 hours, a record for anyone that was named Tony Stark. But who could blame him? Adelaide is a great kid and not the fact that Tony believes that this little girl is indeed her daughter.

He just needs to prove it.

He watched as the girl seating right next to him took a sip and smiled softly at the taste. “Good?” he asked.

“Yeah. I like hot chocolate. It’s delicious. But I never get any at my relative’s house.” Adelaide said, her voice thinning down at the last bit, barely audible. Tony heard it though and a frown made its way to his handsome features. He took in Adelaide’s appearance and committed it into his memory. He was pretty sure that her relatives are not treating her properly. I mean it would take a blind man not to see that. No six year old should have a body of a three year old. Adelaide was skinny as a stick. And don’t get him started on the way she was dressed. Her clothes were no way appropriates her, worn and three times her size. And it was boy’s clothes! Boy’s clothes for pete’s sake!A strong gust of wind swept through then making Adelaide tug on her sleeves before gripping her cup once again. But that’s when Tony saw it. He could see hints of bruises littering her wrist and some from her lower arm. Tony resisted the urge to tug the sleeves down to see them. Seeing those bruises on Adelaide’s skin made his blood boil. He wanted to ask badly, he tried once, yesterday to be exact but Adelaide just steered the conversation away. But he remembered how her overall demeanor changed, she was flushed, stuttering and her eyes kept darting from left to right. Everything about her action rubbed him in the worst way.

“Hey Mr. Tony?” Adelaide turned to Tony and stared at him with her big green eyes.

“Yes Adelaide?” He turned to her and pried the empty cup of choco from her hands. He needed that for later.

“You never told me where you are from.”

Tony blinked before grinning at her. He never told her that did he, well it never really turned up. “Well I am definitely not from this side of the world.” Adelaide blinked at him, before tilted her head slightly to the side.

‘ _Cute’._ Tony thought. “I’m from the US. California, you heard of that place right? Lots of sun and sea.” He said while making wild gestures with his hands.

“Yeah. I’ve read about it from my cousin’s books.” She scrunched her nose slightly. “He never reads those books.”

Tony chuckled and pulled Adelaide closer to him, throwing his arm around the little girl’s shoulder.

“This feels nice Mr. Tony…” Adelaide mumbled, before letting out a soft contented sigh her eyes dancing with glee as she watched the leaves of the willow tree sway with the wind. Tony’s eyes softened after hearing Adelaide. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning over the girl and pressing a kiss on the side of her head. “Nice huh? I think so too.” He pulled Adelaide closer and the two of them just sat there watching the sun as it sets.

He glanced at the empty cup of choco and pursed his lips. He needed to check.

He needs to be sure.

…

* * *

 

“Sir I have it.” Happy said as he puts a small paper bag in front of Tony. As always the man still hates being handed things. He claims that it’s a pet peeve, but Pepper thinks it his eccentricity rearing its head. Tony was focused on his Stark Pad doing God knows what and just nodded at Happy. “Thanks buddy, Uh can you patch in Pepper? I need to talk to her.” Tony mumbled, before grabbing his phone from the table.

“JARVIS, you there?” Tony called. A disembodied voice came through the Stark Pad.

“For you sir. Always.”

“Of course.” Tony intoned. “J, I need you to look into the people that are living on Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whining.” It was good that Adelaide told him where she lived during one their 20 questions session that they loved to do whenever they are together.

“Running through database right now sir.”

Tony grunted when his phone went off. He grabs the smaller piece of tech and walks out to his hotel room’s terrace.

“Tony? Is everything alright?” Pepper’s worried voice greeted Tony before he changed the call to a video one.

“Hey Pepper. I need you to do something for me okay? I’ve sent some DNA sample through JARVIS that you should have right now.” On cue Pepper picked up her own Stark pad before looking back at him. “I just got it. What’s this for?” she asked.

“Remember the little girl that I was telling you last night? Adelaide?”

Pepper nods from the screen. “She really does look like you. You think she’s--?”

“I’m pretty sure Pep. But I want to be sure. I needed her DNA compared to mine so I can legally gain custody for her immediately.” A dark look suddenly crossed the Stark’s features. “I don’t want her to stay with her relatives any longer. I don’t think that she’s being treated properly Pep. I saw bruises on her arms earlier!” Tony snapped, his breaths were coming out in puffs as righteous anger gripped him.

“Calm down Tony. I’ll send this to one of our team and have them compare it. I’ll send you the result as soon as possible.” Pepper said, her voice soft.

Tony let out a frustrated sigh, before he rubbed his face with his hands. “I know it’s just. When I saw them I felt so angry. Why did I feel angry? I never felt angry for anyone before! Well maybe except for you and Rhodey…” he grumbled out.

“Calm down Tony. Everything is going to be fine.”

Tony chuckled humorlessly.

“Go get some rest Tony. I’ll talk to you soon.” Pepper smiled before hanging up.

Tony hummed. Yeah he needs that. Badly.

…

* * *

 

**ADELAIDE**

Adelaide can’t remember the last time she felt this happy. Meeting Mr. Tony was one of the best things that ever happened to her. Sure she was shy around him when they first met but that’s normal for little girls’ right? Being shy around new people? Adelaide sure hope so. She and Mr. Tony talked about many things; he even treated her for some hot chocolate!

She hummed a tune as she walked back to her relatives’ house. Nothing could damper her mood for the rest of the day. Mr. Tony told her that he will be waiting for her again in their secret spot again tomorrow! Adelaide can’t wait.

Adelaide felt really happy when Mr. Tony called her with her name. Adelaide was a mouthful but she never hears her name much. Her relatives would either call her ‘girl’ or ‘freak’, not by her real name. There’s something about way Mr. Tony says her name that it makes her tummy warm and all fuzzy on the inside. Yep, she liked Mr. Tony more because of that!

She remembered the sensation of when Mr. Tony’s lips touched her head. Adelaide lifted her hand and touched the place where Mr. Tony had kissed him. Nobody ever kissed her. No one but Mr. Tony. She didn’t know much about positive human contact, since she hardly gets any, but she knew that kisses are good right? She let out a soft giggle before walking again, this time she had a small bounce in her every step.

Her smiled froze and cold dread suddenly crept to her at the sight of Number Four. Her Uncle’s car is already there. He was not due to return home for another hour or so. She quickly ducked into the small passageway towards their backyard and quietly slipped inside. She hoped that her Uncle would not see her.

“GIRL! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” Adelaide tensed when she heard her uncle bellow from the kitchen door. She slowly turned from the door to face her uncle and saw him sprawled on the kitchen island, a bottle of alcohol half empty in front of him. Adelaide gulped.

“J-Just outside uncle Vernon.” She stuttered, her face rapidly losing it color as Vernon stood from the bar and lumbered towards her. He grabs her shirt and pulls her closer to him. The stench of alcohol from the man’s mouth hit Adelaide making her slightly nauseous.  

“IT’S YOUR FAULT!” Vernon screamed, he began shaking Adelaide violently from her shoulders before throwing her to the floor. Adelaide stared at her rampaging uncle with utter fear. He’s going to hit her again! She pushed back the tears that are threatening to fall from her eyes; uncle Vernon didn’t like it when she cried. He would hit her harder.

 Adelaide’s darted around her, searching for any sign of her aunt and cousin. They were not home yet. It’s just her and uncle Vernon. No one would stop him when he gets to far. She started to shake, she quickly crawled to the corner of the kitchen between the stove and the refrigerator desperately trying to make herself small.

“GET BACK HERE YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING LITTLE PIECE OF SHITE!!!” Vernon bellowed again, waddling towards Adelaide. She didn’t know what her uncle was talking about. Why was he so angry with her? She didn’t do anything to him!

Adelaide whimpered when Vernon pulled her up from her spot. She trembled under the man’s alcohol dazed eyes. He raised his big meaty hand struck her across the face. The impact along sent her little body to the floor. Adelaide cradled her now split lip as she backs away from Vernon.

“Uncle. Please! I’m sorry! I… I won’t do it again!” Adelaide begged, tears where rolling from her eyes. But the man was not listening. He was just about the hit here where they here Dudley’s voice whining from the front door. Vernon hauled her small body and sneered at her. “It’s your fault. That’s I’m getting demoted. It’s your fault!” Vernon hissed before he dragged her towards her cupboard, almost ripping the door from its hinges before throwing her inside and locking her in.

Adelaide whimpered, she curled herself into a ball. She grabbed her dirty old blanket and muffled her tears with them. Her face hurts. She knew it’s going to look bad tomorrow. Mr. Tony would see it and he will know how bad she was and he’s going to leave her.

She didn’t want Mr. Tony to leave her. She curled herself more, before falling asleep with only one person on her young mind.

“Mr. Tony…”

…

* * *

 

**TONY**

“Sir. I just finished running a background check for one Vernon Dursley.” JARVIS voice woke Tony from his rather fitful nap. He heaved a jaw cracking yawn before sitting up from his bed. Tony took the Starkpad from its holder and read whatever JARVIS has for him.

“Vernon Dursley is a Sales Representative of a company that makes drills called Grunnings sir. He is due for a demotion after receiving complaints with sexual harassment from his co-workers. There has been a huge amount of sales discrepancies found in his department since he assumed his position as Sales Representative.” JARVIS continued.

Tony yawned once again and quirked an eyebrow at the picture of the man flashed on his pad. The man was a size of a whale! How come the man was still alive with that amount of fat in his body is beyond Tony. “Grunnings?” he asked the AI.

“Grunnings Company contracted Stark Industries for their machineries in making drills sir.”

“Hmmm. File that info for later JARVIS. What time is it?”

“It’s exactly 09: 14 am Pacific Standard Time.”

“Any news from Pepper?”

“I’m afraid not sir. But she did sent you an e-mail stating that the documents that you are asking will be made available early this evening sir.”

Tony stalked his hotel room, rummaging through the kitchen and made himself a coffee. He looked up to Happy who was still dozing away in the sofa. “Alright J. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome sir.”

…

* * *

 

**PEPPER**

“Here you are Ms. Potts. Everything is in that folder.”

Pepper looked up from her desk and stared at the folder in front of her. This is it. Inside that folder is the DNA test that Tony wanted. She looked up at the man who was wearing a lab coat and stared at him. “I trust that you have handled this with outmost confidentiality? Mr. Stark would not be pleased if any of this goes out without his permission.” Pepper informed the man.

The man shifts on his feet, nodding at her. “Yes Ms. Potts. I made sure to dispose of the documents, leaving that the only copy.”

Pepper replied with a curt nod. “Alright. Thank you.”

She quickly fires her laptop and copied the documents from the flash disk inside the folder. She sent it to Tony’s private server. Pepper didn’t dare open the file. Tony should be the first on to see it, as much as she wanted to know as well. But she knew where she stood. She can only support the man whatever the results will be.

Her eyes travelled down to the folder and noticed a piece of paper peaking. She reached for it and held it. Pepper let out a small gasp, it was a picture of a newborn baby laying on top of woman.

A little baby girl.

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scenes of Child Abuse and swearing present in this chapter. A warning to everyone.

**TONY**

"Sir. Ms. Potts had just finished uploading the DNA testing results to your private servers. Do you want to go through it now?" Tony's head shot up from his coffee when he heard it. He downed the rest of his drink and grabbed his pad and started sorting through his files. His dark eyes stopped at the Pepper's most recent upload. He waited for this for a whole day. That included 20 calls to Pepper which the latter ignored, a new Mark design and five cups of black coffee. Finally, his proof—his evidence to prove that what his gut feeling has been telling him is true.

Tony felt a lump forming in his throat as he continued to stare at the email from his pad's interface. What if the result turned out negative? What if Adelaide was not his daughter? Hesitation suddenly pooled in the billionaire's gut. Of all the time to have cold feet it had to be now. Tony huffed. Will it really matter if Adelaide turned out not to be his daughter?

" _No it won't."_ Tony told himself. Images of a smiling Adelaide invaded his mind.

" _No it won't."_ He repeated to himself, his mind finally arriving into a decision. He wouldn't leave Adelaide alone even if she turned out not to be a Stark. That's what adoption is all about right?

The billionaire focused back on his pad's interface and pressed the email. The couple of seconds that took the file to load felt like hours for Tony.

"Paternity test certificate for Maria Adelaide Evans…" Tony's mind reeled as he read through the items listed in the file. Every single detail, he took it all in. He didn't understand much about this branch of science but he was confident that he could learn to understand it right now. A strong feeling of familiarity gripped him when he read the little girl's full name. She was named as an Evans. Lily was an Evans. If that wasn't enough proof then he didn't know what. He continued to read on.

"… DNA samples from Anthony Edward Stark compared to Maria Adelaide Evans resulted to a 98 percent match…"

"… _Match."_

Tony's eyes widened.  _A match! Adelaide's his daughter!_

"Sir?" JARVIS voice echoed from the pad, snapping Tony from his somewhat stupor. His eyes never left that one line from the file.

He found his little girl.

He's a father.

"JARVIS call Pepper please." Tony demanded his voice slightly quivering at his discovery. He needed Pepper, he needed someone to tell him that this was real.

"Of course sir." It only took the AI to connect the call and Pepper's worried voice sounded from Tony's earpiece.

"Tony? Are you alright? Did you read the result? What did it say?" Pepper babbled, but Tony didn't care he was still beside himself in shock and glee. "Pepper…" he let out a small laugh. A genuine one. "I just found my little girl. It's a match. I'm a father Pepper! Can you believe it?" He laughs again, switching the call to a video again, he beamed at the smiling face of Pepper.

"Well I'm way past the surprised stage Mr. Stark. You were never really discreet with your previous affairs." Pepper joked, her eyes shone with happiness, happiness for her boss. Pepper had never seen Tony this happy before. Not even when he managed to create his Iron Man suit. Maybe not even then.

"I knew it. I knew the moment I laid eyes on her Pepper." Tony's voice came out a little shaky but the smile never left his face. He shook his head disbelievingly. "This just makes it so real." He mumbled.

"What are you going to do Tony?"

Tony flashed a grin at his CEO. "I'm taking my daughter home with me Pepper. Can you start the renovation at the house?"

"Of course Tony." Pepper beamed at him before hanging up. Tony let out a long breathy sigh, he reclined back to his seat and stared at the white ceiling. He didn't even comment at how dull the thing looked like he would normally. His mind was already elsewhere. Adelaide's his daughter, his flesh and blood and he finally found her. The smile from his face fell when he remembered what Adelaide had looked like earlier when he saw her.

…

* * *

_Earlier that day:_

For the first time since Tony met Adelaide, he arrived at their secret spot first. Adelaide usually arrives first, but today he was there first. It was odd, but Tony didn't think too much about it. If he knew right, maybe the kid just caught up with the ridiculous amount of chores her despicable relatives makes her do. Tony grumbled. He started foraging around the willow tree to pass the time. The tree was impressive, Tony thought. It was different, resilient. The billionaire thought about getting one planted back at Malibu. He have to check that with Pepper first. He threw a tree another look before a mischievous smile spread through his face. Maybe not.

"Mr. Tony?"

Tony's smile turned even wider (if that was even possible) when he heard Adelaide calling out. He ducked under the tree's leaves and approached the little girl. Said girl had her back turned to him and was wearing even more worn looking clothes.

"Hey there kiddo…" His cheery voice died when Adelaide turned to him. The girl was harried. Paler than he last seen her (yesterday) and there was a dark bruise marring the lower part of her face. Tony sprinted and dropped to his knees in front of her. He gently held her face and looked at the offending bruise, it new and turning darker. He also noticed her split lip, still swollen with hints of crusted blood of the corner on her lip.

"What happened?!" Tony demanded, his eye searching Adelaide's. She flinched, but the little girl was determined not to meet his eyes.

"I fell down." Came Adelaide's reply. She was still avoiding his eyes and was staring at the empty space near her shoe.

"Adelaide…You can't get a bruise like that from falling down." Tony started, not convinced at all.

"Yes I can. I…I just fell down." Her answer was shaky, her whole being was tense. This triggered the warning signs in Tony's head. He wanted to press; God knows how he wants to. But… seeing Adelaide's state. Tony swore that he would do something about this as soon as possible.

"Alright. Let me see that. I think we need to have to ice that thing. That looks ugly. You sure you fell down?" Tony asked, his voice still sounded worried but lighter. Adelaide smiled, split lip and all.

…

"Hey Mr. Tony? What are you doing there in London? Are you looking for something?" Adelaide asked, in her hand was a small ice pack which was held on against her cheek. The two of them were sitting on one of the park bench near the pond. The old ladies that usually loiter around here were nowhere to be found. Not that Tony was complaining, those old ladies are weird!

Tony stared at Adelaide for a while, thinking of how to answer her. Adelaide is a bright kid, smart, curious. Her eyes were filled with them it made them look much much brighter than it really was. But underneath those things, Tony saw that Adelaide was a troubled kid, her eyes held something that he would sometimes see within his own eyes. Loneliness, pain…

"I'm here looking for someone." Tony replied, he broke away from her eyes and stared at the few remaining ducks swimming in the waters. "I found out that I have a daughter somewhere here in London. So I came to find her."

"Oh. Whoever your daughter is… She's very lucky." Tony turned to Adelaide again confused.

"I mean she has you for a daddy…" her voice was barely audible. "I never met my parents. My Mummy died even before she gave birth to me. I don't know who my Daddy is, I don't even know if I have one. My aunt says that I don't deserve to have a family. That's why Mummy died and my Daddy went away."

Tony couldn't take it anymore. He felt his jaded heart break at Adelaide's words. He gently scoops the little girl and placed her on his lap. Adelaide quickly wrapped her skinny arms around Tony's neck and pressed her head against his shoulder. She was already crying by then. Tony felt horrible. He couldn't think of any words to comfort her, so he just started to rub her back soothing her while he murmured reassuring words to her ear.

"If someday my Daddy will come for me. I want him to be just like Mr. Tony. I wish Mr. Tony is my Daddy…"

…

Tony groaned before he stood from his couch and stared pacing. He glanced at the wall clock and grimaced.

6:37 pm. Any chance that he called out his legal team to start drawing up papers to grant him custody at this hour would have been close to nil if he was any normal person. But he's not just a normal person after all. "JARVIS send word to SI legal team that I want custody of Adelaide before tomorrow. Make it clear that if anything leaks out they are going to have to deal with me."

"Already done sir. You can expect a call from your lawyers tomorrow morning at latest." Tony couldn't help but grin. He freaking loves his AI. He leaned back to his chair again and sighed. What now? Can he actually wait for another twelve hours before actually seeing Adelaide?

"I don't think so. Happy?" Tony grumbled he shoots out from his comfy couch and called out his driver. The said man jogs out from the kitchen and looked at his boss with a slightly confused look on his face. "Sir?"

"Get the car. I'm picking up my little girl tonight."

…

* * *

**ADELAIDE**

"Hey freak! Mum and Dad are looking for you!" Dudley's whinny voice called her out. Adelaide was still a couple of blocks away from number four when she was cornered by her cousin. His pudgy body towered over her skinny one as he sneered down at her with his goons for friends lags behind snickering. Adelaide looked up to Dudley's beady eyes and stared back. She doesn't react to her cousin's name calling anymore but that didn't mean that she couldn't make his sweat with her gaze.

"Y-you did something bad! I knew it! I saw you talking to some guy in the park! Dad was not happy." Adelaide's eyes widened. Dudley saw her with Mr. Tony! Cold sweat started to break out from her forehead. Dudley noticed her reaction and smirked at her. "Oh you are so in trouble."

Adelaide could hear her blood thumping in her ears as she approached her relative's house. She was scared. Uncle Vernon was having a hissy fit because of his work and was not in his very best mood. Adelaide cringed at the thought. A pissed Uncle Vernon is a bad uncle Vernon. She was not looking forward in returning to number four.

Slipping inside the backdoor without noise is the easiest part of sneaking back to her cupboard but crossing between the dinner room and the sitting room is not. Adelaide's hand was already clammy when she reached the door. The stench of alcohol greeted her nostrils when she entered. Bottle of alcohol littered the kitchen island, the kitchen was messy. Adelaide gulped, Aunt Petunia would freak if she saw this. Tiptoeing around the mess, she peeked through the kitchen's threshold, checking if her uncle was around.

There's was no one there.

Gritting her teeth, she quickly darted out of the kitchen dashing through the dinner room and towards her cupboard. She let out a sigh of relief when she reached her cupboard door. She turned the knob slowly but it didn't budge.

Her cupboard was locked.

"Vernon. She's here." She heard her Aunt's voice from the living room. She snaps her head to her side just in time to see her uncle Vernon reaching over her and yanked her hair back. Adelaide yelped in pain. She quickly let go of the door knob and grabs her uncle's hand.

"YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING LITTLE BITCH! YOU COSTED ME MY JOB!" Uncle Vernon screamed before he hit her again across the face. Adelaide whimpered as she curled to the corner when Vernon let go of her. She saw her Aunt Petunia locking the door and pulling the curtains over the windows. What are they going to do with her? What did she do?

"WE TOOK YOU IN! WE FED YOU! CLOTHED YOU! AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US? BRING US MISFORTUNE?!" Vernon yelled again, he leered down at her and yanked her again to her feet. He started to hit her face again, his blows getting strong as each hit. Adelaide cried, but she couldn't do anything. Vernon was bigger, stronger. Petunia was just sitting there, watching.

Pain exploded in her head when Vernon slammed her against the wall repeatedly. Adelaide didn't know what was happening; all she knows is that everything hurts. "I-I'm s-s-s-sorry uncle. I-I w-won't do i-it a-again…" she begged. She felt something sticky and red running down the side of her head. Was it blood? Her blood? She could hardly see anything, her face and body was pulsing in pain.

"You really are a little bitch are you? Marge was right all along. Whoring yourself already huh? Who was that man? Who is it?!" Vernon screamed as he kicked her torso after every word. Adelaide whimpered, she lay on her side desperate to protect herself from her uncle's onslaughts. Her uncle knew that she was meeting with Mr. Tony! But Mr. Tony was her friend! Why won't they let her meet him? She didn't know how much more her uncle would continue to beat her. Everything hurts, she couldn't move—everything was blurry, black spots littered her vision before she started hacking up blood. She could still feel her uncle kicking her against the wall. She couldn't even feel it anymore, her body was numbed. She just wanted everything to end.

Is she going to die?

…

* * *

**TONY**

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Tony asked Happy, the two of them where cruising Privet Drive looking for house number four and so far finding the said house was proving to be a challenge.

Happy glanced at the GPS installed in the car before looking back to the road. "I don't know sir. Every house looks the same… it's creepy." Tony rolled his eyes. They took another turn before Tony caught a house with an embossed number four sign on its door. "Hap, pull over I think we're here."

Tony stared at the house with apprehension. There was nothing special about this house at all, it was…ordinary. He stood on the driveway for a second before he surveyed the place. The house was a barely lit, windows bolted with the curtains drawn. Then he heard it. It was faint but he heard it. Someone was shouting then there was a crashing sound. He threw Happy a look before he approached the door. The crashing sound became more prominent then there was a cry. Tony felt his blood freeze. He gripped the doorknob and found it locked. The muffled screaming intensified. Growling, Tony took a few steps back from the door before ramming his shoulder against it. It only took two tries before the door burst opened. Frantic eyes scanned the receiving room, Tony quickly ran though the threshold and to the dinner room. What he saw inside made Anthony Edward Stark see red.

"ADELAIDE!"

…

* * *

**ADELAIDE**

Suddenly she could something crashing; she didn't fell another kick from her uncle Vernon. Voices? They were screaming. She could hear her Uncle Vernon. Her aunt Petunia shrieked. She wanted to cover her ears but she too tired to do so. Another crash. What was happening? Who is it? Suddenly she felt someone calling her name.

"—delaide! Adelaide! Hang on baby!" The voices sounded familiar. She could feel someone's hand holding her head. "Oh God! Hang in there! Daddy's got you."

_Daddy?_ Adelaide wanted to know who it was. She pushed herself to open her eyes, only managing to crack one open slightly. She could make out a man hovering over her. Tears suddenly sprang into her eyes as she recognized the man.

"Mr. Tony…"

"Adelaide! Stay with me kiddo. Stay with me alright? Daddy's got you." She heard Mr. Tony say before everything went black.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay now I'm really going to import most of my stories here from FF.net.   
> So sorry for the grammar errors and everything. I'm still trying to learn and improve my writing.


	5. Chapter 5

**TONY**

Tony was _this_  close from literally tearing his hair out from his head. He couldn't wrap his mind everything that happened the past couple of hours. It's quite similar to what he had felt when he first landed here in London. But this time, this time it's just felt so surreal. Like a nightmare that the billionaire wanted to wake up from. Running his hand again over his head, Tony looked up from the cold waiting bench where he was currently seated just outside the hospital's emergency room towards the curtained ward a few feet away from him. He didn't trust his body to hold his weight if he tried to stand up, it's like the life was sucked from his whole being. He felt helpless. He couldn't do anything.

"Fuck."

He couldn't get the image of a bloodied Adelaide, lying unconscious in front of him out of his mind. He didn't think it was possible. The scene was welded into his memories that would forever haunt him.

"Mr. Stark?" a woman, around her late 40's wearing a white lab coat approached him and sat right next to him. Tony couldn't make out the woman's school expression and it only added to the anxiety that he felt right now. Tony inclined his head slightly; he didn't trust his voice at the moment but he needed to know. He needed to know what happened to his daughter.

"How is she?" he asked, his voice urgent desperate even.

The doctor looked at the billionaire and sighed. "Mr. Stark. You were very lucky. If you haven't brought her in I can't imagined what could have happened." Cold dread crawled once again to Tony's spine, he didn't realized that he was that close from losing his little girl. He let out a sigh before staring back at the doctor. "Is she alright?"

"She's stable at the moment. Though she's still unconscious, we will continue to monitor her for the next 24 hours or so."

"Can I see her?" Tony knew his voice sounded desperate. He didn't care, it's Adelaide.

"Of course." Tony quickly shot up from his seat and made a beeline towards the door when the doctor cut him off. "Mr. Stark you have to understand that Adelaide's case is a form of severe child abuse. Social Services will come and question you in the future." Tony stopped, his hands clenching on his sides. Of course he knew. The doctor didn't have to remind him that. He threw a doctor a look before disappearing inside the hospital.

…

Any amount of self-reassurance that Adelaide is alright did not prepared Tony when he laid his eyes on his daughter for the first time that night. Tony with all his worth was a man of machines and technology; he was used to its presence—lived in its presence. But the sound of whirling, whooshing and beeping made the billionaire inventor's head spin. The room was average in size with cream colored walls situated in the middle of the room was a bed, Adelaide. The little girl looked small under the pristine white hospital sheets. Tony felt a lump in his throat as he took in the sight of Adelaide.

A thick bandage was wrapped around her forehead, bruises littered her face, left arm in a cast, tubes coming out from her mouth. Tony wanted to throw up but dared not to. Instead he slithered his much larger hand over Adelaide's uninjured one and held it. He took a seat on the chair right next to the bed and just stared at Adelaide.

"Hey there baby girl. You're gonna be alright Adelaide. You're gonna be alright." Tony mumbled before pressing his lip on back of Adelaide's hand

" _You're gonna be alright. Daddy's got you."_

…

 _"How is she Tony?"_  Pepper's worried face greeted Tony the moment he answered her call. Pepper's done nothing but worry since he arrived in London and Tony couldn't help but feel bad about it. He didn't want to make her worry more but shit just has to happen. Tony sighed; tired eyes looked back at the strawberry blonde CEO. "Stable. Damn doctors won't tell me anything." He grumbled. Tony was currently seated at the plush couch on one corner of Adelaide's suite room. The billionaire demanded that Adelaide be moved to a bigger room thus the suite. Tony eyes wandered back to Adelaide's unconscious form, he took care to monitor everything that was hooked up to her.

_"I'm sorry I can't be there. I know this is hard for you."_

"No. It's alright. You've done nothing but worry since I arrived here. I'm fine."

_"Hey… It's going to be alright. Adelaide's going to be just fine."_

"Yeah sure hope so…" Tony murmured. "I can't stand seeing her like this Pepper. I…" he sighed. "I just can't."

_"I don't think any good parent can stand seeing their child hurt Tony._

"I could have prevented this…"

_"Tony. No. Don't do this to yourself. This is not your fault. Don't blame yourself."_

"But Pepper I saw the signs. The moment I saw that bruise on her face yesterday I should have done something!" Tony hissed, his anger flaring. Deep down he knew that Pepper was right, but is a stubborn man. He couldn't just take it lying down. He felt that it was his fault. He could have done something. He could have saved her sooner. Pepper went silent for a while before speaking again. "True. But you have to stop blaming yourself. You have your daughter back Tony. She wouldn't want you blaming yourself like this."

Tony groaned before he rubbed his hand over his face.

 _"Get some rest Tony. Keep me posted alright? I'll call in the morning._ "

Tony smirked. "Will do Ms. Potts."

Tony stood up from the couch and resumed his place next to Adelaide. He held her hand once again, inwardly grimacing at how cold it felt against his own. "Hey there kiddo. You sure are taking your time sleeping. Wake up soon alright? I miss you already." Tony said, giving Adelaide's hand a gentle squeeze. A small smile appeared on the former's face when he felt Adelaide's hand gently curling itself around his giving it the slightest squeeze.

"I'll hold you on that kiddo."

…

"Does she really need that tube? She looks uncomfortable in it." Tony watched at the mechanical way Adelaide's chest rose, he didn't like how unnatural it looks. It was bad enough that he has a piece of metal stuck in his chest, he didn't want something similar in Adelaide at all.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, we had to intubate Adelaide because of her broken rib and to help her breathe. Don't this is only temporary."

"I still don't like it. When can you remove it?" Tony shot back, his brows furrowing. The doctor merely sighed. "We'll check if we can remove it in a bit."

"Is it bad for me ask why she's still unconscious?"

"Mr. Stark, Adelaide sustained quite an amount of injuries when you brought her in. Adding the fact that she is severely malnourished and the trauma that she experienced, her body needs all the rest that it can get. But her vitals are good and the moment the anesthesia wears off she's going to wake up on her own."

Tony didn't know if he should be relieved or not. One part of him is glad to know that his little girl is recovering while another is pissed that they can't do anything to make it go faster-her waking up that is. But of course, Tony knew when he is at the disadvantage (most of the time he really can't tell) and just resigned back. He had tons of doctorates but a doctorate in Medicine he didn't have. The doctor seeing that the billionaire has no more questions decided to leave the room before the man changes his mind.

He held Adelaide's hand once again and this time leaned his head on the bed. He hadn't done as much as blink the whole night and finally the amount of stress is taking a toll on him. Tony stifled a yawn before making his head comfortable resting on his free arm on Adelaide's bedside. He didn't think that he will sleeping anytime soon, his mind has been working nonstop. Happy was currently running some errands for him at the moment. Pepper is busy with the files regarding Adelaide's custody and he's expecting a visit from the social services reps in a while. He gave Adelaide's hand a tentative squeeze.

Then he felt Adelaide squeeze his hand back. It wasn't like the gentle squeeze like last night. Adelaide really is squeezing back. Tony's head turned towards the little girl and held her hand with both of his.

"Adelaide? Hey Adelaide?" He coaxed her, he reached for the call button and gave it a couple of presses. He watched as Adelaide's eyes moved from under her lids when a small whimper of pain came from her lips. "Come on kiddo. Wake up. You're alright… You're alright." Tony continued, his eyes never leaving Adelaide's face.

Her eyes finally fluttered open and Tony finally saw those wonderful green eyes. A small broke into his features as he started caressing the little girl's face. Adelaide's eyes were clouded and unfocused before she started blinking and cleared out. Her body went tensed eliciting again a whimper from her. Her eyes were roaming around the room and are yet to focus on Tony's. Tony could see a mixture of fear and confusion in Adelaide's eyes and quickly moved to her line of vision.

"Hey there kiddo." He hushed her. "It's okay, you're safe… you're alright. I got you." Tony reassured her, he maintained eye contact with her and just held her hand. Adelaide's mouth started to move but was obstructed by her breathing tube. She seemed to realize this and just nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

"It's alright kiddo. Don't cry. It's alright. You're good." Tony continued, he wiped the tears from Adelaide's eyes and smiled at her. He held her hand with his long enough to calm her and had the doctor check her. It only took a couple of minutes before the group of med people exited from Adelaide's room leaving the two of them alone.

"Mr. Tony?" Adelaide croaked. Her breathing tube was replaced by a nasal cannula.

"Hey… How are feeling?" Tony looked up from his pad and beamed at Adelaide. The genius quickly scooted his chair closer to her bed and stroked her head, brushing away any stray strands of dark hair from her eyes.

"Everything hurts. But not the hurt hurt. I don't know how to explain it…" she paused, her nose scrunching slightly. "Like every part of me is tingling."

"Huh… That's probably the pain killer's doing. It makes your body go numb all over." Tony made a face.

"I don't like it."

"I don't like painkillers that much either." Adelaide giggled softly.

Tony was just about to say something when a knock came from the door. He threw Adelaide a look and the little girl merely shrugged but he could already see anxiety swirling on her eyes. He stood up from the seat and sauntered towards the door. A woman around her mid 20's wearing a casual business outfit greeted him.

"Mr. Stark? I'm Janet Krei, social services. Do you mind if I talk to you for a second?" the woman, Janet asked him, her hazel colored eyes glanced past him and settled on Adelaide's prone form before focusing back to him. "It's about Adelaide."

Tony eyed the woman with outmost scrutiny. She looked a little young to be working with the Social Services but hey, who was he to ask? He pursed his lips into a thin line before turning back to Adelaide who was looking at him questioningly.

"Hey kiddo. This pretty lady wanted to talk to me. Do you mind if I step out for a little bit?" Tony grinned, before wiggling his eyebrows. Adelaide giggled again before nodding in reply. "Be back in a jiff!"

…

"So what's this about? Ms. Krei… right?" Tony asked his playful attitude gone, replaced by a more serious one. His dark brown eyes bore into the woman's eye who surprisingly is taking it with a stride.

"Mr. Stark I'm just here to check on Adelaide and to hopefully ask her about her…treatment from the Dursleys."

Tony gave the social worker a look, his face impassive but deep inside his anger towards that dreadful family—momentarily forgotten was rekindled once again. He put a lot of effort not to throw the insult that was dangerously dangling on the tip of his tongue. He didn't say anything and just gestured her to continue.

"It has also come to our attention that Adelaide is  _your_ daughter." Janet continued, she pulled a manila envelope on her purse and handed it to him. Tony stared at the envelope then to Janet. "Just put it down somewhere. I don't like being handed stuff." The woman gave him an incredulous look before she schooled herself again and placed the paperwork on the table in front of the. Tony took the papers and scanned it. It was a copy of the DNA test and the custody papers. Tony bit back a smirk, he needed to remind himself to threat Pepper to dinner after this, maybe even give his legal team a bit of a bonus, they delivered quickly.

"Yes I am aware of that. I don't see the purpose why you have to show this to me. I'm the one who requested all of these." Tony intoned, hitting the small stack of papers with the back of his hand. "Yes my superiors informed about that. What I am here for Mr. Stark is to ask if you are really willing to take that little girl in. If you are only doing this out of pity—"

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. How dare her accuse him of doing all of this as an act pity?! "I'm sorry Ms. Krei but I'm not doing this out of pity. I am doing this because that little girl is my daughter." He retorted cutting the woman off, his eyes daring the woman to say otherwise.

"You are known to be a quiet a womanizer Mr. Stark, your reputation precedes you. We cannot have her living in an environment that can be stressful."

Tony decided that he didn't like this Ms. Janet Krei. She's deliberately trying to accuse him of things that she had no understanding off. Tony groaned, he pinched the bridge of his nose before looking back at her. "I have dropped that certain description from my resume recently Ms. Krei. I am in a serious relationship at the moment." He bit back. "And I don't think that my personal life is any of your business. I love Adelaide, even the moment I first laid my eyes on her which was a week ago. I was even considering of adopting her if she turned out not to be my daughter. But I really don't have to do that can I? I can assure you that I can take care of her and everything she needs. She _is_  my daughter."

The two of them stared off with each other for a good minute before Ms. Krei sighed. "Very well Mr. Stark. I can see that you are really serious about this. Adelaide is already under your care in the first place." Janet smiled him, her eyes dancing with amusement. "I just wanted to see if you really are up for this."

Tony spluttered. "So you're just trolling with me… All this time?"

"I'm sorry if it looked like I was trolling with you Mr. Stark. But I really need to make sure."

Tony shook his head and groaned. "I really don't like Ms. Krei. I really don't."

"The feeling is mutual Mr. Stark."

…

* * *

**ADELAIDE**

Emerald green eyes wandered around the room with mild interest. Everything looks so bright and clean, Adelaide noticed. Adelaide knew that she was in a hospital, she knew the reason why she in there too but she tried very hard not to think about it. She tried moving as little as possible; she couldn't really move it in the first place. Her whole body felt so heavy and tingly. Mr. Tony told her that it was the painkillers. Adelaide pouted, she didn't like it. She almost couldn't feel her body. Her right arm was covered with something heavy and her she felt something soft was covering her lower leg. The feeling of warm air flowing from the tube across her nose felt somewhat uncomfortable to her, she wanted to remove it but Mr. Tony told her not to. Adelaide frowned, her eyes once again swept through the large room and landed on the door where Mr. Tony is out talking with someone.

" _I wonder who that lady is."_

She was snapped from her inner musings when the door opened again and Mr. Tony and the lady walked in. Adelaide watched the latter with wary eyes as Mr. Tony approached her and stroked her head again. Adelaide couldn't help but lean it to his touch. "Hey. This is Ms. Krei she came here to ask you some questions. Are you feeling up for it?" Mr. Tony asked. She looked at him for a good second before shifting to the woman standing near the door. Adelaide couldn't help but fell wary and anxious. She's not stupid; she knew that it's someone from child services. Her emerald eyes widened and focused back to Mr. Tony. She was scared, what if they took her away? What if she has to go away? She won't be able to see Mr. Tony anymore. But Adelaide won't say it out loud. She knew, she knew very well that she can't stay with Mr. Tony, he lives somewhere far and he has to work. He has no time for her. Besides, Mr. Tony will leave her eventually.

_Everyone did._

Her mummy  _did_

Her daddy  _did_.

_And Mr. Tony will._

"Okay." She whispered, she clenched her free fist against her sheets. She really didn't want to but she doesn't have any choice now does she? She will end up talking to her anyway. Tony beamed at her before he swept a lock of her hair from her face. "That's my girl. It's only for a couple of minutes. If you don't like to answer then don't alright?" Adelaide nodded. Tony glanced at the woman and nodded, Adelaide watched as the woman beamed at her and slowly sat herself on the chair right next to Tony's.

"Hey there… Adelaide right? I'm Janet Krei. How are you sweetie?"

"M'fine." Adelaide mumbled, she didn't like how the lady looks at her. She knew those looks, she would see them frequently on other people before. It was a smile of pity. Adelaide didn't want anyone's pity.

"I know this is very scary and confusing for you Adelaide but I'm here to help. Can you tell me what happened sweetie?" her voice sounded patronizing and it didn't help her get into Adelaide's good side. Adelaide pursed her lips and looked away. It was a simple question. She can answer that, she can. But was not easy, she didn't want to talk about it so soon. She could still feel every hit from her uncle's beefy arms against her face, his kicks on her torso, his sweaty palms around her neck. Adelaide shuddered, tears were starting to pool around her eyes yet she didn't want to cry She wiped her nose with back of her free hand and stared at the empty wall on the other side of room before answering. "I was on my way back from the park when my cousin Dudley…"

…

* * *

**TONY**

"What can you do about this? You heard what my daughter said; you can't let those bastards get away with this." Tony hissed the moment he and Ms. Krei exited from Adelaide's room. Tony to be honest, didn't want to leave Adelaide alone after hearing the what happened, but he had to all the anger that he was stowing away came resurfacing back with a vengeance after hearing everything from Adelaide. But another part of him was proud of her too. Tony saw himself more and more in Adelaide each passing day that sometimes it's scary.

"Don't worry Mr. Stark we already contacted Scotland Yard about this and the Dursleys they are already in custody." Tony nodded there's no way he's going to let this slip by easily. He hates it when he leave something unfinished. And he and the Dursley are far from finished. He would have dealt with them immediately but Adelaide…  _Adelaide_  comes first. The world can count on it that he will get his way sometime in the future.

"When are you planning on tell her?" Tony blinked, snapping away from his inner thoughts. He looked at Ms. Krei with a slightly confused face.

"What?" He mumbled before realization dawned in his brilliant mind. "Oh… That… I'm going to tell her later."

"You think that is wise Mr. Stark?" Krei asked him, her brows furrowing not really convinced.

"Yes. If she is anything like me, she would not like being kept in the dark. I hate being kept in the dark and I don't want her to experience that… God knows how long she's been kept in the dark already." Tony answered the last part came more of a mumbled than an answer. Ms. Krei gave him a look before nodding.

"Well I'll leave you to that." She lifted her hand to hand his hand which he did with less gusto. "Good luck Mr. Stark and make sure that Adelaide gets the love and care that she had been denied all her life." Ms. Krei intoned before bidding goodbye.

Tony watched the woman walk away and turn to the corner before sighing. "For her?  _Anything."_

_…_

* * *

**ADELAIDE**

Adelaide let out a small whimper when she heard Mr. Tony and the lady walk out of her room. She turned to her side and carefully curled herself as much as her body can. She had told the lady everything that happened, now she and Mr. Tony knows. Mr. Tony wouldn't want her anymore. Unshed tears brimmed on her eyes and slowly spilled to her pillow. She idly wondered what Mr. Tony and that lady (she refuses to call her with her name. She didn't like her enough to do so.) was talking about.

" _Maybe to where I should go after this."_ She thought bitterly.

Adelaide nearly jumped from her bed when she felt someone rubbing her shoulders. Gingerly, she wiped her tears and slowly turned to her side. Glazed emerald eyes met large dark hazel ones.

"Hey… Hey why are you crying?" he gently adjusted her bed and rubbed circles on her back in attempt to calm her down. Adelaide shook her head and turned to her pillow, she liked it when Mr. Tony comforts her, he makes her feel safe again. She would hate it when Mr. Tony eventually leaves. Adelaide let out a soft yelp when she felt Mr. Tony gently slid next to her and lifted her so she was settled against his chest. She found herself turning toward him, pressing her face against the nook of his neck.

"Mr. Tony? You're going not going to leave right?" It was a stupid question, Adelaide knew. It was a question that was directed to her rather the man, she needed to know.

"What makes you think that I'm going to leave you?" He asked her, confusion clear on his voice. Adelaide lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up to him. "You were talking to that lady. She's going to take me away or make you go away."

"Hey. Look at me. Remember what I told you the other day?" Adelaide nodded, not really sure what he was talking about. "You were looking for someone. Your daughter?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "And guess what… I found her." Adelaide stared at Mr. Tony in surprise, she didn't know what to think. If Mr. Tony found who he was looking for then he will leave her. But she was happy for him too. It was all too confusing! She might understand more things than other kids her age but her mind can take only much.

"I… That's g-great Mr. Tony." She forced herself to answer, she could already feel her tears pooling once again in her eyes.

Mr. Tony beamed at her and leaned closer before pressing his lips on her forehead. "She's a perfect little thing. Smart, curious and is the bravest kid I know." He was looking into her eyes intently. There was something in Mr. Tony's eyes that Adelaide can't understand but he was very happy.

"She's a little withdrawn but can be a firecracker if she wants to be…" He ran his long fingers over her dark mop and twiddled with her curls. "She loves drinking chocolate and has a weird attraction with anything technology related, well that's not really surprising if you know me." He chuckled, but Adelaide was still confused. She threw Mr. Tony a questioning look but only got another kiss in return.

_Huh?_

"She's a little messed up right now but I'm planning on taking care of her now." Adelaide couldn't take it anymore and squirmed from Tony's arms, she shifted and faced Tony whose face was unreadable. "Mr. Tony… Why are you telling me this?"

"Because Maria Adelaide Evans...-

I'm your daddy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters should keep coming until chapter 11. I've already written that much despite taking a hell lot of time drowning in my writer's block.


	6. Chapter 6

**ADELAIDE**

" _Because Maria Adelaide Evans… I'm your daddy."_

Adelaide blinked…then blinked again. She knew was looked like a fish right now, gaping at Mr. Tony but, but she just don't know what to do. Did she hear him right? Or Vernon had bashed her head too hard and left her hearing stuff? Mr. Tony her daddy? It's not a joke right? He didn't looked like he was joking, Adelaide noticed.

"Adelaide?"

She continued to gape at the billionaire not saying anything. How? Him, her daddy? Mr. Tony? Adelaide was stunned speechless. Confusion and overwhelming thoughts ran rampant in her mind. She was having a really hard time wrapping her mind at the idea, it just sounds so surreal—like a dream. Adelaide blinked again before she pinched her leg hard.

She felt the sting and Mr. Tony was still looking at her expectantly. He's still there and just told her that she's his daughter. It's not a dream… She's not dreaming.

She heard Mr. Tony chuckle and felt his hands over her shoulders, steering her body so that she was facing him. Adelaide looked up at his dark hazel eyes and couldn't help but admire them. There was no hint of lie present in them, it looked happy, expectant and somewhat longing?

"Huh…"

"I know this is very confusing but it's true. I am your Daddy."

Adelaide didn't realize that she was actually waiting for Mr. Tony to say it again. Say that he is her daddy, his words enough proof that this was not a dream—that this was true.

"You're not lying? You're really my Daddy?" Adelaide asked, her voice desperate. She didn't want to assume things and everything ends up all to be joke. Not knowing to what do, Adelaide launched herself to Tony's chest and clung to him like her life depended on him.

 _Please don't let this be dream. Please let this be true…_ Adelaide begged inwardly. She felt Mr. Tony's hand rubbing over back in a warm soothing way all the pain in her body somewhat numbed.

"It's true I'll never lie to you Adelaide."

It was really hard to believe it. But Mr. Tony… Mr. Tony never gave her any reason not to trust him neither not believe him. He has never done anything but help her, protect her. He wouldn't lie to her. Adelaide pulled slightly away from Tony's chest and glanced up to him, her eyes searching any hint of insincerity in his eyes.

Mr. Tony was telling the truth. He's not lying and Adelaide couldn't help but believe him in a way.

"I have a Daddy…" she mumbled to herself, the word felt foreign but welcomed. It rolled on her tongue smoothly like she had been saying the word all her life. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy in the inside, warmer than the hot chocolate that Mr. Tony—or rather her  _daddy_  bought for her the other day. Tears pricked her eyes once again and she gingerly wiped it away with her free hand but the smile that made its way to her face never waned. Mr. Tony continued to rub soothing circles on her back and Adelaide felt herself relaxing more and more. And just like that the pain from her injuries made itself known once again, the influx of information that Adelaide was still in the process of digesting finally taking a toll on her fragile body. Her body felt heavy and her vision clouded, she leaned her head once again over Mr. Tony's chest and whimpered. But before she succumbed to the sweet embrace of unconsciousness, Adelaide clung to Mr. Tony and mumbled

"Daddy… I have a daddy… Mr. Tony is my daddy."

…

* * *

**TONY**

Hearing Adelaide call him  _daddy_  was probably the best feeling that Tony felt in a long while. Being a dubbed as a genius, billionaire, philanthropist is one thing, but being called a father was another. He wondered if Howard felt the same when he first called him  _dad._ Sure the titles has its perks; the money, his business, his IronMan suits and the whole superhero thing. But really, nothing could compare to be called a 'daddy'.

'I'm turning into a sentimental bastard…' Tony thought with a laugh. Oh if only those people who judge him could see him now, they would probably jump off a building.

Tony was worried for a minute after telling Adelaide the truth, thinking that her brief silence was a sign that she was going to reject him. Tony knew that he would be heartbroken if Adelaide did end up rejecting him.

Tony gently adjusted the injured little girl in his arms and tucked her in the bed. He marveled at the little girl that is his daughter, taking in her features locking them in his impressive memory. With a light touch, Tony ran his long fingers across Adelaide's features, her brows, her lips her brilliant eyes it was Lily's. Everything else was all him. It was hard to look past the bruises that marred his daughter's body, every single scratch, bruise, wound only fuelled the anger that was pitting down in the genius's gut. How can anyone hurt something as precious as Adelaide? It was a surprising that Adelaide didn't ended up more withdrawn than she was already. Tony knew that it was her unending curiosity and intellect that kept her grounded despite the abuse that she had experienced.

Adelaide was really one of the kind. Tony was excited to see what person his beautiful daughter will grow up to be in the future. He gently wiped away a stray lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ears.

A soft knock caught the man's attention and called out. A sheepish looking Happy Hogan peeked into the room before tiptoeing inside. Tony watched the man with slight amusement.

"Happy, why are you tiptoeing?" Tony asked, amused.

"I didn't want to wake the little miss sir." Happy replied, his ears turning into a bright shade of red. Tony stood up from his seat and approached the bodyguard and gave him a pat on his shoulder. "Good man." He said, he caught sight of brown manila enveloped in Happy's hand. "What you got there Hap?" He reached for the envelope and started sorting through its contents.

"It was given by the officers from Scotland Yard. They found that locked inside Petunia Dursley's cabinet. It was addressed to you sir." Happy explained. Tony gave the man a look before focusing back at the envelope's content. "Why would that witch have something that was address to me?"

"I think it was from Lily Evans sir."

Tony grunted in reply, his growing ire for the Dursleys are reaching a whole new level.

"There's also a small trunk found sir. It was locked so I decided to store it with your things for you to sort out at a later date."

"You sounded like Pepper. You sure you're not taking lessons from her?" Tony asked, quirking an eyebrow at the poor man.

"Not that I am aware off sir."

Tony was just about to reach into the envelope when he heard a soft whimper coming from Adelaide, he quickly pushed the envelope back to Happy's hand and resumed his place right next to Adelaide.

"Daddy?"

Tony smiled. "Yes baby girl?"

Adelaide's eyes fluttered opened and looked into his own, a small smile gracing her lips as she does so. "Nothing, just making sure that I'm not really dreaming… and too see if you're still here." she mumbled as she burrowed deep into her sheet and let out a soft sigh. Tony's lips quirked before leaned down to place a kiss on the girl's head.

"You're not dreaming Adelaide. And there's little to none that can make me leave you alone willingly. I'm not going anywhere." Tony reassured her. Adelaide nodded before her eyes fluttered close again.

"Please don't leave me alone Mr. Tony. I don't want to be alone anymore."

Tony felt a pang in his chest at Adelaide's words. He knew first-hand how hard it is to believe and actually trust someone. He and Adelaide are one and the same in that one. Tony doesn't trust anyone aside from his immediate close friends, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy heck even JARVIS. And Adelaide doesn't have anyone she can trust. No one cared for her, she had to learn to fend for herself. Tony glanced at Happy who had kept silent at the exchange before looking down at Adelaide.

"Never Adelaide… Never again."

…

Tony grinned at Adelaide as she ogled at the aircraft in front of them. Tony had managed to harangue the doctors to let release Adelaide and continued her treatment in the US. The doctors having no choice and wanted to keep their sanity intact begrudgingly released her. So there they are walking into a private plane hangar somewhere inside Heathrow where Tony's private jet was waiting for its passengers.

"Close your mouth darling. You might catch flies." Tony joked, as he wheeled the little girl to the jet. Adelaide tilted her head back and blushed.

"Sorry Daddy… it's just so big. I've never been in an airplane before." Adelaide admitted.

"Nah it's alright kiddo. I know my jet is awesome!" Tony replied with a wide grin. The doctors though released her to him, did not clear her to walk on her just yet. Informing him that Adelaide's left knee is still healing from being dislocated after a being stomped at. A thick bandage and a knee support was still tightly wrapped around her knee supporting it until it healed.

He gently scooped Adelaide from the wheel chair and carried her inside. Tony didn't really mind that Adelaide can't walk. It gave him the excuse to carry her around in his arms. He placed Adelaide in a comfy seat and strapped her down before taking a seat right next to her. He watched as Adelaide quickly took everything and committed it to her memory. The spark in her eyes as she stared at the screen in front of them was something that Tony would see in his own reflection.

"You ready Adelaide?" He asked his little girl. Adelaide turned to him and nodded. Tony threw her a wide smile before signaling the pilot for take off.

"Do you think they'll like me?" Adelaide asked him the moment they reached cruising altitude. She didn't turn to him at her question and just stared out from the plane's window.

"Who?"

"Ms. Pepper, Mr. Rhodey and Mr. JARVIS."

Tony eyes significantly softened at Adelaide's question. Pepper would definitely love her, she already adores his little girl and was just as excited as he is in bringing Adelaide home. Rhodey… well Tony might have forgotten to inform Rhodey about Adelaide but that can be easily rectified, it was Rhodey! Of course he would understand. And then there's JARVIS, Adelaide was not aware that JARVIS was his AI butler and thought that it was a real person. Tony couldn't wait to see how Adelaide would react to JARVIS when they arrive. But returning to Adelaide's question…

"Pepper will love darling. She's the nicest lady that you'll meet and she keeps daddy sane." Adelaide blinked at him before she giggled. Tony couldn't get enough of the sound of her laugh and just gazed down at her as she started picking on her casted arm. He reached in her and pulled her closer and buried his nose on her dark curls.

God he love his little girl.

…

Adelaide fell asleep somewhere over the Atlantic and remained unconscious when they landed in California a couple of hours later. Happy went ahead and prepared for their safe transport back to Stark Mansion where Pepper is anxiously waiting for them. Tony held onto Adelaide tightly as he carried her down the plane. He spotted a couple of press loitering around the area, getting full info about his weeklong excursion to London from somewhere. Tony frowned, he didn't want to parade Adelaide and introduce her as a Stark just yet. Yes, it was selfish of him to hide Adelaide from plain sight but Tony, Tony missed six years of his daughter's life he was titled to be selfish when it comes to Adelaide. And Tony was no someone who wants to share, especially his little girl.

Adelaide woke half way to his Malibu mansion and immediately froze up. Tony watched as Adelaide turn all rigid and resisted any movement. Tony didn't comment on it and just held her when she did moved and latched herself into his person.

"Don't worry Addy. I got you." Tony muttered while he ran his free hand over Adelaide, an attempt to calm the little girl down. Adelaide just nodded her head against his shoulder.

…

* * *

**ADELAIDE**

Adelaide was scared, very scared. She didn't know what was waiting for her in —her daddy's home. But all her initial fear was quickly replaced by awe the moment they stepped out from her daddy's car. The house was huge! It was bigger than the houses back in Privet Drive! It was beautiful. She felt her daddy's hand over her's and held it tightly. She glanced up to him as he beamed down on her before settling her to a collapsible wheelchair that they had packed.

She fought hard not to let her mouth drop the moment they entered the house, the door was automatic! It opened on its own! Wow. Adelaide could feel her inner techie rearing its head from its hiding place deep inside her head. Everything was beautiful. It was way different than the over clean house the Dursleys had it gave her a home feeling. She knew that Mr. Tony was rich, it didn't took her too long to figure that out. He screamed 'rich' the moment she first saw him. Then there was his cool gadgets and everything about Mr. Tony. Adelaide could see a certain grace with the way her daddy moves. Movements that Adelaide only saw with the old couple living on number thirteen, an old rich couple. But she didn't expect him to be THIS rich! This beautiful place was going to be new home.

"Welcome home Sir…" A British accented voice greeted them from out of nowhere. Adelaide snapped her head from side to side searching from where the voice had come from.

"Hey there JARVIS! Is Pepper home?" Adelaide looked up to her daddy and tilted her head confusedly.

"JARVIS?" she asked, her brows furrowing.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that JARVIS is not a person. He's my AI." Tony replied, before gesturing around the room. "Hey JARVIS this is Adelaide!"

"It's nice to meet you Miss Stark. Your father had told me much about you." The voice replied.

Adelaide stared at Tony dumbfounded. She looked at her daddy before letting her eyes roamed across the room. "N-nice to meet you too Mr. JARVIS." She greeted back. "Uhm. Mr. JARVIS what are you?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I am what you call an Artificial Intelligence. Mr. Stark created me to provide support to all his endeavors. My system JARVIS simple meant  _'Just A Rather Very Intelligent System"._

Her daddy just stood behind her and watched her. He didn't say anything and just stood there. Adelaide didn't know what to think right now. But she was definitely amazed, she couldn't wait to see what more her daddy can do.

" _Tony?"_

A lady appeared from out of nowhere and nearly sprinted towards them. She was very pretty and wore an expensive looking dress. She was smiling widely at them and stopped just a couple of strides from where Adelaide was.

Tony walked around and met her halfway and greeted her with a kiss. "Hey there Pepper. Miss me?"

Adelaide watched the interaction warily. She didn't want to intrude to between her daddy and the woman she now knew as Ms. Pepper. She stared at Pepper and kept silent. Pepper then turned to her and their eyes finally met. She pulled away from her daddy and slowly approached her, she kneeled down to her level and smiled softly at her.

"Hey there. I'm Virginia Potts but you can just call me Pepper."

Adelaide stared at Pepper for a couple of seconds before turning away, her cheeks reddening. She was not used to be threated this nicely by people except for her daddy. She sneaked another look to Pepper and she was still looking at her with understanding. Adelaide felt something build in her tummy. There was something about the way Pepper was looking at her that just made her feel alright, nothing like the feeling that she gets when she was with Tony but it was close… very close.

"Hi. Ms. Pepper… I'm Adelaide… but you can just call me Addy. Nice to meet you."

Pepper smiled brightly at her and held her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Adelaide felt her breath hitch at her touch, but was surprised by the gentle way she did it. Adelaide looked up to her and searched her eyes. There was something there… something that Adelaide couldn't comprehend, it was nothing bad… Ms. Pepper would never hurt her—she could tell it, feel it.

She could trust Ms. Pepper. Her daddy does so that means she's nice. Right?

…

Just when Adelaide thought that had seen everything her daddy and Ms. Pepper proved her wrong again.

"And this is your room~" Tony cheerfully announced as they wheeled her into one of the many rooms on the mansion's second floor. Adelaide felt her mouth gape open at the sight. The room was huge! The walls was deep ocean blue in color and a creamy white ceiling. The floor to ceiling windows gave a stunning view of the Californian seas and the beautiful sunsets. There was a king sized bed pressed against one corner of the room, a big study desk, book shelves and a walk in closet! Toys littered the bed, different stuff toys sat teasingly on the cream colored sheets begging to be played with.

Adelaide felt tears prick her eyes. She turned to Tony and Pepper and opened her mouth but no words came out.

"Do you like your room? I told Pepper what your favorite color is and she arranged everything for you." Her daddy told her. Adelaide could only nod, when a sniffle escaped her.

"I've never had something as pretty like this. I… I don't know if I deserve all of this."

Her daddy once again knelt down in front of her and wiped the tears that are not freely falling from her eyes. "This is all yours Addy. You deserve all of this, if not more."

Adelaide couldn't help but nod in reply, she reached for her dad and wrapped her arms the casted one and the free one around his neck and buried her face on his shoulder, her body shaking tears.

"Thank you daddy…"

She heard home chuckle and rubbed her back soothingly. "For what?"

A small smile made its way on her lips but didn't pull away.

"For everything."

…

* * *

**TONY**

"I can't believe she's finally here. She's perfect Tony." Pepper said as she leaned her head over Tony's shoulder as the two of them watch a now sleeping Adelaide from her door. Tony hummed in agreement and gazed down at his daughter.

"That she is. She went through a lot already Pepper. I don't want her to suffer again." Tony murmured. He felt Pepper's arms snaking around his waist a soft hum from her lips. "You're going to be a great dad Tony. I can see it now."

Tony chuckled; wiggling from Pepper's arms he switched their position and held her close to him. "Well you're going to be a great mom for Addy too. She likes you already." He purred in her ear.

"You think so?"

"I know so. When was I wrong about things?" Tony joked.

Pepper giggled and pressed her lips against Tony's. He missed the feeling of her lips against his, he pulled Pepper closer and ushered her from Adelaide's room. It would a disaster if Addy woke up to the two of them in a middle of a make out session.

"I still worried about her health Tony. She's too skinny and looked rather pale for my liking."

"I know the doctors told me that she was showed signs of being starved. It stunted her natural growth. I know I'm not really that tall and her mother was average in size so Adelaide was already very petite. She's going to have to eat up to catch up." Tony sighed, he handed Pepper a flute of champagne and plopped down the couch next to her. "Those bastards almost killed my daughter. I was this close to beating that bastard to death." Tony grumbled, he clenched his fist and let out a harsh breath.

"Don't worry Tony, they won't get away with what they did."

"Oh no they won't. I'll make sure of that."

Tony turned to Pepper and looked at her intently. "What do you think Addy would like for breakfast tomorrow?" Tony suddenly asked, his brows furrowing in thought. Pepper raised her eyebrows at him and gaped.

"Oh Tony." Pepper groaned before the two of them erupted into a laughter.

Tony smirked at his girlfriend and kissed her again. Nothing could make this day any better. He finally brought his little girl home and he has this wonderful woman in his arms. Today was definitely perfect for Tony.


End file.
